Wednesday, January 23, 2013

My Prayer for Lucy


My little girl is now 9 months old.  To most of you, that still seems little.  And it is.  But to me, I feel like she is grown.  Ok, so I'm exaggerating a bit.  I walked into the sitter's house to get her yesterday and she was standing up playing with a little girl at a lego table.  Ummm, excuse me.  My baby is still supposed to be little enough to be carried around.  She is literally growing like a weed.  The days can seem long and then fly by all at the same time.




I stumbled on this blog the other day written by Ann Voskamp.  She wrote this prayer and when I read it I could barely see it through my tear-soaked eyes.  I know Lucy is still little, but I want to pray this prayer over her sweet little 9 month old life.  Because I know all too soon, my 9 month old will be 19.  And I all want for her is to know Christ the way I know him.  
Ann's original post can be found here.

Father who breathed into this daughter . .
I pray for this girl being formed into eternity . .

May the wind always be in her hair
May the sky always be wide with hope above her
And may all the hills be an exhilaration 
the trials but a trail,
all the stones but stairs to God.

God, clothe this girl in a gown of grace
Grace, the only dress that makes beautiful,
the style of Your spirit.

Nourish her on the comfort food of you Word,
Word, that makes her crave more of Christ,
have hunger pangs for Him.

Enclose her in communion with you
You, love who makes her love, who folds her heart into a roof
that absorbs storms for souls,
that make her tongue speak on the words that make souls stronger.






Make her vocation in this world simply be translation.

Translating every enemy into esteemed guest,
Translating every countenance into the face of Christ,
Translating every burden into blessing.

When it's hard to be patient . . . make her willing to suffer
When it's ridiculous to be thankful . . . make her see all is grace
When it's radical to forgive. .  . make her live the foundation of our faith
And when it's time to work . . . make her a holy wonder.

May she be bread and feed many with her life and her laughter
May be be thread and mend brokenness and knit hearts
May she be dead to all ladders and never go higher, only lower, to the lonely and the least and the longing
Her led of the Spirit to lead many to the Cross
that leads to the tomb wildly empty.

OH, AND RAISE ME, LORD, FROM THE DEADNESS OF MY OWN SINS TO LOVE THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL LIKE YOU DO . . .


I love you Lucy!



Friday, January 4, 2013

2012


2012 was a year of change for the McCaleb family.  It was exciting, challenging, and and scary all at the same time.  But one things always remains consistent: God loving us and always taking care of us.



2012 brought us PARENTHOOD!  We found out our sweet Lucy was coming in 2011, and she made her appearance on April 23rd, 2012.  It was one of the best days of our lives.  As many people say, parenting is the best job in the world and the hardest job in the world.  



Lucy makes our lives sweeter each and every day.  I think the Lord gave us children so we can catch of glimpse of how much he loves us.  We are loving being parents.  Lucy is now 8 months old and is quite the socialite.  She loves life and every new thing is exciting to her.  Being parents is truly a gift from God and we thank Him for blessing us with such a sweet gift.


In 2012, the Lord also taught us about PROTECTION.  On June 12th we had a bad storm and a tree fell on our house while Lucy and I were inside.  Many attributing factors proved that God was definitely in the room protecting us.  I wrote a detailed post about it HERE.  Every time a storm comes and I get scared again, I think back to this day and how differently things could have turned out and I'm so thankful to God for his protection over our family.


In 2012, God also showed us about His provision.  He provided us a wonderful church family where we dedicated Lucy to Him in August.  It was such a sweet time and I pray that Jared and I will be the parents God called us to be.  I pray that we love Him first and foremost, love each other, and teach Lucy how to do the same.  


He continues to provide for our family and we know He will do the same in 2013.  It's fun to look back at this past year and see all the many changes in our lives and how He works everything out in His time and for His good.  

My prayer for 2013 is that we continue to look to the Lord and follow in obedience!


Thursday, January 3, 2013

Lucy Updates!

6 Months

Weighs
18lb 6oz
28in long



She loves to:

-eat (still!)
We started her on vegetables this month and she is loving them!  
-move!  
She gets around anywhere and everywhere!
-bite and chew
She is biting and chewing on everything with her new teeth!!





7 Months


She loves to:

-eat
She loves trying new foods and has liked all of them (carrots, squash, peas)
-play
She is loving getting down in the floor and playing with all her toys!




8 Months

Weighs around 20 pounds
She is very big for her age but also very tall!  We'll see if she stays that way!


She loves to:

-eat!
This is a first for every month because she is such a good eater!  Still loving her vegetables and about to start on fruits!
-stand up!
She is pulling up on everything!  It scares her mommy and daddy and sometimes scares her too when she is standing up and can't figure out what to do after that!
-play
She loves to play more and more each day!


She is in size 3 diapers now.  She still nurses 5 times a day and basically eats 3 times a day.  Pretty soon we'll start giving her a sippy cup and hopefully more and more food.  She takes 2 pretty good naps every day and sleeps through the night.  She still only has 2 teeth but I think more will come very soon!  She is such a happy girl and we love her so much!